Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes

Summary

Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes is a subgenus of the genus Rhododendron, with a widespread distribution in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The species are evergreen shrubs and small to medium-sized trees (up to 20 m tall), with medium-sized to large leaves (very large, over 40 cm long, in a few species). The flowers are large, produced in terminal trusses of 5-40 together.[1]

Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes
Rhododendron ponticum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Rhododendron
Subgenus: Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes
(Blume) K.Koch
Sections
  • Ponticum
  • Pentanthera

The subgenus includes two sections, Rhododendron sect. Ponticum, divided into 24 subsections and about 140 species, and (since 2005) Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera[2]

Section Ponticum (24 subsections)

  • R. subsect. Arborea (3 species)
  • R. subsect. Argyrophylla (6 species)
  • R. subsect. Auriculata (one species, R. auriculatum)
  • R. subsect. Barbata (2 species)
  • R. subsect. Campanulata (2 species)
  • R. subsect. Campylocarpa (4 species)
  • R. subsect. Falconera (7 species)
  • R. subsect. Fortunea (10 species)
  • R. subsect. Fulgensia (2 species)
  • R. subsect. Fulva (2 species)
  • R. subsect. Glischra (5 species)
  • R. subsect. Grandia (9 species)
  • R. subsect. Griersoniana (one species, R. griersonianum)
  • R. subsect. Irrorata (7 species)
  • R. subsect. Lanata (one species, R. lanatum)
  • R. subsect. Maculifera (6 species)
  • R. subsect. Neriiflora (19 species)
  • R. subsect. Parishia (3 species)
  • R. subsect. Pontica (13 species)
  • R. subsect. Selensia (5 species)
  • R. subsect. Taliensia (20 species)
  • R. subsect. Thomsonia (7 species)
  • R. subsect. Venatora (one species, R. venator)
  • R. subsect. Williamsiana (one species, R. williamsianum)

Section Pentanthera (2 subsections)

  • R. subsect. Pentanthera (G. Don) Pojarkova (15 species)
  • R. subsect. Sinensia (one species: Rhododendron molle)

Cultivation edit

This subgenus includes the majority of the larger evergreen rhododendrons widely grown as ornamental plants. Some species, notably Rhododendron ponticum, have escaped from cultivation and become invasive in some regions such as New Zealand.

References edit

  1. ^ Chamberlain, DF; Hyam R; Argent G; Fairweather G; Walter KS (1996). The genus Rhododendron: its classification and synonymy. Royal Botanic gardens Edinburgh. ISBN 1-872291-66-X. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  2. ^ Goetsch, Loretta A.; Eckert, Andrew J.; Hall, Benjamin D. (July–September 2005). "The molecular systematics of Rhododendron (Ericaceae): a phylogeny based upon RPB2 gene sequences". Systematic Botany. 30 (3): 616–626. doi:10.1600/0363644054782170. S2CID 51949019.

Bibliography edit

  • Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
  • Craven, L.A.; Goetsch, L.A.; Hall, B.D.; Brown, G.K. (2008). "Classification of the Vireya group of Rhododendron (Ericaceae)". Blumea - Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants. 53 (2): 435. doi:10.3767/000651908X608070.

External links edit

  • Germplasm Resources Information Network: Rhododendron subgenus Hymenanthes